William Smellie (encyclopedist)

William Smellie FRSE, FSA Scot
Smellie, by Henry Bryan Hall
Born	1740 The Pleasance, Edinburgh
Died	24 June 1795 Edinburgh
Resting place	Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh 55°56′48″N 3°11′32″W / 55.94667°N 3.19222°W / 55.94667; -3.19222
Nationality	Scottish
Education	Duddingston parish school High School, Edinburgh
Alma mater	University of Edinburgh
Occupation(s)	Printer, editor, naturalist, antiquary
Employer(s)	Apprentice, Hamilton, Balfour & Neil, printers, 1752 Substitute lecturer, botany, University of Edinburgh Founded Balfour & Smellie, printers, Edinburgh, 1765 Edited 1st edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica, 1771- Editor, Edinburgh Magazine and Review, 1773-1776 Partner with William Creech, 1782-
Known for	Editor of the Encyclopædia Britannica First Edition
Spouse	Jean Robertson (m. 1763)
Parent(s)	Alexander Smellie, architect, Edinburgh
Notes
Member of the Edinburgh Philosophical Society, thereby becoming a founding fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh upon the Philosophical Society receiving its royal charter in 1783 Founder of the Newtonian Club (1760)

William Smellie FRSE FSA Scot (1740–1795) was a Scottish printer who edited the first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica. He was also a naturalist and antiquary. He was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, co-founder of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, and a friend of Robert Burns.